Categories One-by-One: Documentary Short

For the films of 2020
Post Reply
User avatar
gunnar
Assistant
Posts: 514
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2020 9:40 pm
Location: Michigan

Re: Categories One-by-One: Documentary Short

Post by gunnar »

I didn’t really like Hunger Ward, though I understand why some might. I thought the others were decent. Here’s how I’d rank them:

1) Do Not Split
2) A Love Song For Latasha
3) A Concerto Is a Conversation
4) Colette
5) Hunger Ward

I thought Colette seemed kind of incomplete or perhaps not focused enough. It wasn't bad, though. I thought the top two separated themselves a bit from the rest, at least in terms of my preferences.
anonymous1980
Laureate
Posts: 6377
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:03 pm
Location: Manila
Contact:

Categories One-by-One: Documentary Short

Post by anonymous1980 »

Personal preference:
1. Hunger Ward
2. A Love Song for Latasha
3. Colette
4. Do Not Split
5. A Concerto is a Conversation

Prediction:
1. A Love Song for Latasha
2. Hunger Ward
3. A Concerto is a Conversation
4. Colette
5. Do Not Split

This is one of the toughest categories to predict. It's a genuine 4 and even 5-way race. I would not be surprised if any one of these nominees win.

Hunger Ward is the most harrowing and upsetting of the entries. It's about children who are starving to death in the wake of Saudi Arabia's US-backed war with Yemen. It will make you sad and angry. This one made me the most upset among the five docs. That could translate into votes. It would probably get my vote.

A Love Song for Latasha is a biographical doc of Latasha Harlins who was tragically shot by a convenience store owner in 1991. It's another very relevant doc. It's also on Netflix so it will be very accessible and widely seen. For me, it is the most artistic of the five nominees. That could also translate into votes. Personally I would flip a coin between this and Hunger Ward.

A Concerto is a Conversation would not get my vote but it would probably get a lot of votes for being the happiest, most uplifting choice in the bunch. It is also the only nominee about the arts. So this is going to get some votes that could translate into a win.

In the '80s and '90s, the Academy has shown a bias towards Holocaust documentaries and that is what Colette is. This one will get the vote of those Academy members. It is a well-made, solid documentary.

The one who will least likely win is probably Do Not Split. It's about the Hong Kong protests. It does have, however, an accompanying controversy of China being upset with it. I have no idea if that will help or hurt it. As a film though, while it is pretty solid and well-made, it doesn't as much of the qualities that could push it into a win that the other entries have. But who knows?
Post Reply

Return to “93rd Academy Awards”